Climate Adaptation & Low-Carbon Housing Challenge
GeoAirCon
Leaders of affordable climate control systems, enhancing climate adaptation and resilience for the developing world.
What is the name of your solution?
GeoAirCon
Provide a one-line summary of your solution.
Pioneers of affordable climate control systems, enhancing climate adaptation and resilience for the developing world.
Film your elevator pitch.
What specific problem are you solving?
Often those facing the brunt of climate change are sidelined. Those already facing economic difficulties facing unprecedented climate extremes are left with no option. Such is the case for almost 1 Billion + people just in Pakistan/ India that can't afford Air-conditioning.
Due to climate change once Air-Conditioning once considered a luxury has become a necessity without with which quality of life, productivity and health is compromised for millions in the developing world, especially for women and children that spent more time indoor.
Not only are conventional means of air-conditioning un-affordable for the vast majority but are also a major contributor for GHG emissions(1850+ Million Metric tons) and as reported by the IEA the need of air-conditioning is expected to tipple by 2050, this means adding new 10 AC units each second for the next 30 years. It is essential that this growth be as sustainable as possible to stop the vicious feedback loop of climate change due to current technology.
What is your solution?
GeoAirCon is the pioneer of a new form of affordable shallow geothermal climate control system that utilises already available boreholes as climate batteries through it's innovative thermal transfer tech that reduces energy required for climate control by up to 75% in operational costs and is at the same time up to 50% cheaper to install then conventional systems. Catering to both heating and cooling needs.
Personal water wells/ boreholes are very common in countries like Pakistan and India as water supply infrastructure is very limited and often insufficient, these bores vary in depth from 300-600 ft, coincidentally also the ideal depth for vertical geothermal system, Our technology enables multi-purposing this already available asset through an in-bore circulatory heat exchange system that is connected to a CFU-Coil Fan Unit helping maintain indoor temperatures of 23-26°C in the summers when ambient temperature may be upto 45°C and 18-22°C in winters when outdoor temperature may be 5°C. Most importantly the solution is able to work in the humid monsoon season unlike evaporation based cooling and is also able to work in winters to provide heating.
Additionally the solution has the potential to provide cost-effective climate control for agricultural applications helping in further increasing climate resilience of those that are fast becoming climate refugees. Thus the multi dimensional benefits and low cost of the solution make it a excellent choice for a sustainable future especially in the developing world.
Who does your solution serve, and in what ways will the solution impact their lives?
Low income countries that also face extreme temperatures such as India/Pakistan where temperatures reach up to 50°C are an example of the population that will benefit from the solution, specially because the current options of conventional AC systems are affordable. Other factors such as humid monsoon and cold winters also limit other options such as evaporation based cooling.
Thermal comfort is essential for good quality of life, productivity and health whithout which the poverty cycle is enforced thus by enabling people to have a comfortable homes means well rested population yielding to higher productivity and better being able to focus on studies for children, whilst mothers that also face host of heat based medical issues would be resolved.
Additionally as contribution to GHG emission would be reduced by 75% and use of toxic refrigerant is also avoided, benefit to the environment is achieved along with reducing the heat island effect.
How are you and your team well-positioned to deliver this solution?
Muhammad Hassamuddin CTO/CEO: An award winning clean-tech innovator/ engineer with over 8 years of experience is very well versed in implementing innovative clean-tech solutions for the developing world having his work recognised at numerous platforms.
Ali Khan COO: Is an highly experienced HVAC engineer having 7 years of experience in the domain and having managed some of the largest HVAC projects in the country. He has hands on experience in building capacity of the locals for help in installation and maintenance of the Geoaircon system.
Sheharbano Sherazi CMO: Is our people person, finding the best partners for the job to keep our team lean and having personalised encounters with the customers to integrate their feedback in our design iterations.
Additionally we have partnered with multiple universities such as NUST, AIOU, UET to engage students in research at MS and Phd level for different components of the solution.
Which dimension of the Challenge does your solution most closely address?
Support informal communities in upgrading to more resilient housing, including financing, design, and low-carbon materials or energy sources.
In what city, town, or region is your solution team headquartered?
Islamabad
What is your solution’s stage of development?
Growth: An organization with an established product, service, or business model that is rolled out in one or more communities
How many people does your solution currently serve?
Currently GeoAirCon has installed over 120 tons of cooling/heating capacity. One of our flagship projects is a 100+ student hostel at Namal university, Mianwali,Pakistan. Where temperature reach 50°C in the summers.
As of now more than 500 individuals are benefiting from the solution, spread out geographically all over Pakistan. The systems have been operational for a year giving us data for both summers and winters.
Why are you applying to Solve?
In line with Solve's vision, by being part of this prestigious community. We hope to learn and contribute towards it. This opportunity would highly uplift our resolve and ability to effectively scale the solution so that maximum No of people would be able to benefit.
As a new technology, their are challenges such combating the risk averse nature of the customers in the region, we hope that the validation brought by the platform shall greatly help with market adoption of the solution.
Policy reforms also play an important role towards the adaptation of such solution, since practices such as tax breaks for sustainable solutions are not present at the moment.
In which of the following areas do you most need partners or support?
Who is the Team Lead for your solution?
Muhammad Hassamuddin
What makes your solution innovative?
The solution takes inspiration from the centuries old Persian "Qanat" based cooling system in which the underground temperature was transferred into buildings.
The same phenomenon has been modernised with a number of key innovations to make it easily applicable to current context and needs.
First of it's type in-bore heat exchange unit, allows for rapid dissipation and collection of heat into the underground water table and soil, enabling multi-purposing of already available water wells.
The in-bore heat exchange system allows the whole loop to operate in a closed loop configuration, differentiating it from a well based open loop system, Allowing for significantly lower power required for circulation of water in the complete loop. This configuration also enables minimal maintenance as once the system is charged it not have any losses.
Designed keeping in mind availability of local resources and skill set, the system can easily be installed by local well drillers and a plumber and maintained without any specialised equipment other than what is already available.
Keeping the cost low as much as only $150 per ton of cooling/heating capacity makes it one of the most economical option for masses.
What are your impact goals for the next year and the next five years, and how will you achieve them?
2023- Refine the product and design to increase efficacy and scalability.
2024- Develop in-house development of key components for easy iterations.
2025- Vertically integrate the supply chain to reach economies of scale and further reduce cost.
2026- Expand internationally to the middle east and other relevant markets.
2027- Cater to over 500,000 households.
Which of the UN Sustainable Development Goals does your solution address?
How are you measuring your progress toward your impact goals?
-Amount of electricity saved, thus resultantly the amount of GHG emissions reduced due saved energy production.
-Lives improved, those who couldn't afford alternative what is the qualitative improvement in their lives.
-Quantitative analysis of the beneficiary and the demographics.
What is your theory of change?
Our belief is that grassroots level innovation has the potential to improve lives. By observing what's around us and what resources are available, we can come up ingenious solutions that are sustainable and are relevant to the local context.
The same framework was used to come up with Geoaircon as the resources required where already available and it was a matter of perspective to utilise our ancestral knowledge to come up with solutions that were most suited to our situation.
By applying first principles thinking we were able to devise a solution that when put in practice makes us question as to why this wasn't being done before.
Describe the core technology that powers your solution.
The ground's ability to store heat enables GeoAirCon to provide affordable and sustainable cooling and heating.
This phenomenon was well understood by ancient Persians that used "Qanat" based cooling to keep buildings comfortable in the scorching heat.
GeoAirCon has brought this age old technology into modern times by integrating the cooling mechanism with already available water boreholes abundantly available in the region.
Which of the following categories best describes your solution?
A new application of an existing technology
Please select the technologies currently used in your solution:
If your solution has a website or an app, provide the links here:
www.geoaircon.com
What type of organization is your solution team?
Hybrid of for-profit and nonprofit
How many people work on your solution team?
GeoAirCon has 3 full time employees and a team of 5 part time
How long have you been working on your solution?
We have been working on the solution since the past 3 years conducting experimentation and developing the minimum viable product and multiple itterations, having formally incorporated a company in early 2022.
What is your approach to incorporating diversity, equity, and inclusivity into your work?
We at GeoAirCon believe that strength comes from diversity. Thus priority is given on being as inclusive as possible. The core team itself consists of people with multiple ethnicities and even though an engineering focused a healthy gender balance is maintained. As we grow we hope integrate people with further diversity to further broaden our perspectives and engagement.
What is your business model?
Sale of GeoAirCon systems through a partner network of installers.
Do you primarily provide products or services directly to individuals, to other organizations, or to the government?
Individual consumers or stakeholders (B2C)What is your plan for becoming financially sustainable?
Already profitable, we hope to increase our production in order to reach economies of scale.
Solution Team
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Mr. Muhammad Hassamuddin CEO/Founder, GeoAirCon
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Our Organization
GeoAirCon